Apparatus for generating vapor used in the destruction of weeds and rabbits.



No. 807,180. PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905. B. LOCKING. APPARATUS FOR GENERATING VAPOR USED IN THE DESTRUCTION OI WEEDS AND RABBITS.

APPLICATION FILED MARIS, 1905.

NITEI) STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN LOCKING, OF NAPIER, NEW ZEALAND.

APPARATUS FOR GENERATING VAPOR USED IN THE DESTRUCTION F WEEDS AND RABBITS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed March 13, 1905. Serial No. 249,973.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN LOCKING, a subject of His Majesty the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing in Tennyson street, Napier, in the Provincial District of Hawkes Bay, in the Colony of New Zealand, have invented certain new and useful Improvements' in Apparatus for Generating Vapor to be Used in the Destruction of Weeds and Rabbits, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object the generation of gas to be used for asphyxiating rabbits in their burrows and in the destruction of weeds.

According hereto I employ a chamber in which sulfur or charcoal is placed and ignited. Air fromafan or thelike is led into the chamber and a flexible pipe carries away the resultant gas to the place where it is to be used. The end of the tube has a conical wire screen to prevent it from becoming choked when pushed into bushes or into a burrow.

The apparatus is mounted upon a barrow for convenience in moving it from place to place.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 'a plan. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the apparatus removed from the barrow.

The combustionchamber 1 is contained within the outer casing 2, the space 3 between the chamber and the casing being used to contain water to prevent the chamber from becoming too hot. A tube 4, passing through the top of the casing into the chamber, isfitted with a cover 5, which is removable to allow the material from which the gas is to be generated to be placed in the chamber.

The apparatus is carried upon a barrow 6, and a fan 7 communicates with the chamber through atube 8. The fan has a pulley 9 upon its axle which is revolved by a band 10, passing around said pulley and around a drivingwheel 11, fixed upon a spindle 12, journaled upon the barrow and having a handle 13 by which it may be revolvedQ A flexible metal tube 14 is connected to the combustion-chamber 1 at one end and at the other end has a conical wire shield 15, which is employed to prevent obstructive matter from entering the end of the tube. For convenience in operating the flexible tube handles 16, which may be of wood or covered with non -conducting material, are secured upon a socket 17 fixed upon the tube 14.

My apparatus may be made of any metal which may be found most suitable for the purpose. The flexible tube is preferably that known as flexible metallic tubing, which is usually employed for carrying steam.

In operation sulfur or charcoal is placed in the combustion-chamber and ignited and the lid secured in position. The handle is then turned, whereby the fan is revolved and air forced into the chamber, where it meets the burning sulfur or charcoal and forms sulfurous-acid or carbonic-acid gas, as the case may be. The destructive effect of the gas upon weeds may in some cases be increased by first wetting the weeds with water by means of a spray-pump, which may be used in connection with my apparatus. For destroying weeds sulfurous-acid gas only is employed, and it is led to the weeds by the tube 14. For destroying rabbits carbonic-acid gas or sulfurous-acid gas may be used, and the tube is inserted into the burrow, which is closed by packing earth or the like around the tube. When suflicient gas has been driven into the burrow, the tube is withdrawn and the burrow completely closed, with the result that the rabbits therein are asphyxiated. 7

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. A device of the kind described comprising in combination, a combustion-chamber, a lid therefor, an outer casing receiving said chamber, a fan, a tube connecting said fan with the combustion-chamber, a flexible delivery-tube one end of which is connected to the combustion-chamber and a conical wire shield for the end of said flexible tube substantially as specified.

2. A device of the kind described comprising in combination, a combustion-chamber, a lid therefor, an outer casing receiving said chamber, a fan, a tube connecting said fan with the combustion-chamber, a flexible delivery-tube one end of which is connected to the combustion-chamber and a conical wire shield over the end of said flexible tube, a Intestimony whereoflhavesigned myname pulley on the fan spindle, a driving Wheel to this specification in the presence of two Witfixed upon an axle, a handle for revolving nesses.

said driving-Wheel, a driving-band connect- BENJAMIN LOCKING. 5 ing said driving-Wheel with the said pulley Witnesses:

and a barrow upon which the apparatus is E. P. ODONNELL,

mounted substantially as specified. K. WILSON. 

